Bob's Plan

Anyone who lives in Orléans East-Cumberland is all too familiar with the congestion crisis facing the east end. The only way we’re going to see less traffic and shorter commute times is by putting in the work and fixing our public transit system. Building a public transit system that actually works means more than convenience for bus riders. It means fewer cars on the road causing traffic. It means more time at home with your family and less time commuting. And it means making it easier for the rest of Ottawa to come see what makes our communities so special. 

Rebuilding our transit system is a long term project.

These are Bob’s priorities for this next term of council:

1. Increase the size of our bus fleet, with a goal of one bus for every thousand residents 

2. Reduce and freeze the bus fare at $2.00 a ride

3. Remove all fares for youth 18 and under

Housing affordability is one of the most important issues facing our city. And our city council has one solution they’re interested in pursuing, and that’s cutting costs for developers. It has become very affordable to build in this city, and yet we’re not seeing that affordability trickle down to homebuyers. It’s almost as if, housing policy that centres the needs of builders over everyone else, only achieves affordability and profits for those builders. 

As your city councillor, Bob will:

1. Work with council to develop a clear standard for housing to be considered "affordable"

2. Tie any future reductions in costs for builders to the construction of affordable units

3. Hold the line on the urban boundary

4. Prioritize development in transit hubs

Let’s grow Orléans East-Cumberland smart. 

Small businesses are the lifeblood of our local economies. With growing uncertainty abroad, there has never been a better time to support and uplift our local businesses.

As your city councilor, Bob will work with small businesses to:

1. Create a permanent market space in Orléans East-Cumberland 

2. Ensure small businesses aren’t left behind in the redevelopment of areas like St. Joseph, by pursuing measures that will protect a percentage of new retail space for small businesses

3. Follow through on the overwhelming feedback the BIA received on the St. Joseph corridor, to make it a more walkable, accessible, and people friendly space

4. Support buy local initiatives to boost our local economy

Let’s create a space for small businesses to grow and thrive.

Governments operate on public funds, in the public interest, and should be making as much information public as we can. That is not the current approach at the council table, and we need to change that. Democracy thrives in sunlight, and so we need to shed more on our local government.

As your city councillor Bob will:

1. Develop a council vote tracker to make sure information is open and accessible to voters

2. Hold regular bi-annual town hall meetings to keep connected to the concerns of the community and give voters a chance to discuss what matters most to them face-to-face with their councillor

3. Exit the NDA that the City signed with Alto, so that we can keep our voters informed about how this project will impact their lives and how we are mitigating the issues they’re concerned about

One of city council’s most important responsibilities is setting the rules for how developers operate in our city. Your councillor’s main concern on these files should be the impact it has on voters and on the community. When councillors rely heavily on the development industry to fund their election campaigns, there is a clear conflict that will impact how they represent you at the table. The best way to avoid these types of conflicts, is to say no to developer dollars.

Bob promises to:

1. Refuse and refund any campaign donations from individuals connected to the development industry

2. Publish a list of all donors over $100 before you vote

Orléans East-Cumberland is a vibrant, bilingual community. Bilingualism is not something that happened by accident, but was built over generations of English and French speaking families coming together to build this community we love. That is something to be protected, celebrated, and accounted for when making important decisions. Your councillor shouldn’t just be able to put out a scripted speech in French, but talk to you in the language of your choice, to better understand your lived experience in the community.

As your councillor, Bob will:

1. Commit to immersing himself into the Franco-Ontarien community and continuing to dedicate himself to fluency in both official languages. 

2. Hold public and private consultations with diverse communities and cultural representatives such as MIFO with the goal of ensuring that all community members have a voice at the table and a say in city hall

3. Improve access to city services in both official languages across Orléans East-Cumberland

4. Work with local francophone groups to figure out how best to showcase our community during the 2028 Francophonie in Ottawa

Every day, Bob is meeting people across Orléans East-Cumberland who are fed up with our crumbling roads, bursting water mains, and outdated community resources. With the city projecting a $3.5 billion deficit for infrastructure renewal over the next ten years, it is beyond time to build a plan. Instead of waiting for things to break down, it’s time to put on our boots and get to work renewing what we’ve already built. 

Once elected, Bob promises to:

1. Work with staff to build a plan that covers the full infrastructure renewal deficit

2. Prioritize spending on taking care of what we have, before we try to sprawl out any further

3. Focus on getting infrastructure ready before developments are dropped in, rather than waiting for problems to bubble up before addressing them

4. Advocate for investment in all three modes of transportation (transit, car, active) so that we can ease traffic in the east end